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The TCA ground might not have satisfied everyone as a first-classvenue in recent years, but there must be an element of regretamong members that a 105-year occupation of a small piece of theQueen’s Domain is about to end, as far as inter-State andinternational cricket is concerned.The ground has had a fascinating history, and it seems appropriate to reflect on someof the events that it has witnessed in its time. As the Annual Report for 1981-82 revealed, the ground was opened in 1882 after the best part of ten years intermittent development. A gameagainst a Melbourne Cricket Club Eleven was arranged tocommemorate the event, the match ending in a particularly heavydefeat for the local Association. Tasmania, of course, haslearned to live with such reverses over the years, and in asimilar way, local administrators have had to accept the factthat the finances of the Association have not always allowed thedevelopment of the ground to proceed in a satisfactory way; manyof the Annual Reports often bemoaned the fact that variousprojects designed to improve the ground, even as basic aspainting and general maintenance, were not possible to implementbecause of the lack of funds.One of the early problems was the surface of the ground itself.Unsympathetically dry weather in those first few years resultedin the ground cutting up badly, allowing on one occasion EHButler to take 6 for 1 for the South against the North. Alliedto the this problem, which was only partially solved by importingmany yards of topsoil, was the one concerning the supply of waterto the ground. Initially, a windmill was tried, but this wasfound wanting, which might come as a surprise to the members ofthe 1979-80 English team, who had one day’s play abandonedbecause of a Force 10 gale in their match against Tasmania. Inthe 1885-86 season, the windmill was replaced by a hand-forcedpump system, which by definition seems to have been a ratherlabour-intensive device. Nevertheless no further complaints ofthe water supply reached the Annual Reports until after World WarOne, when a total prohibition of the use of water fornon-essential purposes resulted in the death of most of theground’s grass. Reference was made in 1947 to an improvement inthe water supply to the ground, but even so, the water pressurehas never been considered really satisfactory.The provision of suitable accommomdation for members and thepaying public has exercised the minds of many committees over theyears, and in its time, the ground has seen the coming and goingof many forms of seating. Curiously, two of the original standshave withstood the rigours of the elements and time, and surviveto the present day, albeit in modified form. The originalmembers’ stand was in place when the ground was opened in 1882,and in 1906, at a total cost of 1066/18/1, was pushed back toallow the construction of the brick structure at the front whichis familiar to all today as the HC Smith Stand. Gas was laid onat the same time as a concession to modernity;in 1926 electricitywas installed, the committee of the day expressing the hope thatthis would lead to sufficient lighting to allow “eveningtraining”. In 1940, the two ends of the stand were glassed in,but unfortunately the designers of this were inhibited by eithera lack of funds or imagination and failed to glass in the sidewhere it was really needed, namely, the front. In 1946, theoutside stairway on the southern side of the stand first gaveaccess to the top deck, and in 1950, the players’ viewing areasin the front of the dressing rooms were provided. The press,originally accommodated under the old scoreboard (which was builtin 1907), were relocated on the top deck of the stand in 1977,the year of Tasmania’s admission to the Sheffield Shield.The Ladies Stand was originally located on the southern side ofthe Members’ Stand, and was a slightly more grandiose affair thanit is now. In 1946, it was proposed to move it to its presentlocation, a scheme whose execution was accelerated by theintervention of the elements: a series of gales in May and June,1947 unroofed the structure, thus forcing the committee’s handsomewhat. A new cantilever roof was designed, but thenon-arrival of some of the materials meant that it was notcompleted until the 1948-49 season. The two concrete stands thatare now sited in its place were completed for the 1954-55 season,along with the entrance gates, turnstile houses and ticket boxes.The original turnstiles were acquired in 1885, more as a statussymbol than anything else, since the committee was moved to writein its Annual Report that “we have imported from England two ofNorton’s self-registering turnstiles, similar to those in use onthe Sydney Cricket Ground”! The suggested motivation for thepurchase is confirmed by the fact that they were not installedfor use for another five years.Up to World War One, the ground was more than just a cricketground. Two tennis courts (one grass, one asphalt) were openedwith the ground in 1882, and for many years, a memberschampionship was contested and faithfully reported in the AnnualReport. In 1887, the old pavilion that had been sited on theoriginal ground further down the hill, was dragged up to itspresent position and converted into a Skittle Alley for themembers’ pleasure. The novelty of this sport was evidentlyshortlived, for in 1898, it was then converted into changeroomsfor a cycling club. The latter group was originally catered forin 1891, when the committee were moved to report the expenditureof 46/14/0 on a new bicycle track, but added their “regret thatthey have not met with the good faith they expected from theRamblers’ Bicycle Club at whose request the work was undertaken -only three members of the Club have joined the Association of the15 who undertook the responsibility when negotiating with yourcommittee. “Football was tolerated at an early stage, despite this sportbeing the reason why the cricketers were keen to escape from theLower Ground in the first place. By the 1890s, winter Saturdayafternoons were taken up with baseball, and the 1896 AnnualReport announced that the “quoit pitch has been well patronisedon Wednesdays and Saturdays”. The ground even witnessed a”Japanese Sports Day” in 1902, on the occasion of the visit oftwo Japanese warships to Hobart. The gathering at the groundwere treated to the “novelty of Japanese wrestling, single-stickexecises (?) and other feats which proved very interesting to thepublic”. This was a year after, incidentally, the Association’sacquistion of a stone roller and a horse “with a view to economiclabour and making the work on the ground easier for the curator”.Bowls was the fad in the first decade of this century, and aconsiderable amount was spent on the bowling green and pavilionwhich were opened in November, 1911. The impending war, however,seemed to put a stop to all this frenetic activity and thingswere never quite the same afterwards. In 1932 the by-now disusedbowling green was converted into the present practice-wicketarea. The only other major sporting liaison since those far-offtimes has been with the Hobart Speed Coursing Club, which in 1935commenced a long and harmonious relationship with the cricketingfraternity. The greyhounds disappeared a few years ago, however,and now first class cricket is to follow suit. It is theAssociation’s hope that the ground can be retained for clubgames, but nonetheless, 1987 marks the end of an era for cricketin Hobart.

On December 3, 2001, when he missed college to watch Tinu Yohannan make his Test debut at Mohali, in the process becoming the first Kerala player to play international cricket, little would S Sreesanth have imagined that three years later, he would stake his claim for a place in the Indian team at the same venue. Neither would too many people have imagined that a slightly built pace bowler from Kerala, a state more famous for its athletes and football stars, would end up as the Man of the Series in this season’s Challenger Trophy.If Yohannan put Quilon on the Indian cricket map, then Sreesanth has added Ernakulam to the list. Unlike Yohannan, though, whose physique was tailor-made for fast bowling, the bespectacled, baby-faced Sreesanth comes across like a student of mathematics. When he begins his run-up, the equation slightly changes. With a hustling, rhythmic run-up Sreesanth gathers his momentum, delivers with a side-on action, skids the ball through at disconcerting pace, and most importantly, swings it both ways. If you can hurry Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, you can hurry most. The short delivery was used judiciously, the yorker skillfully. He ended with seven wickets and could have had many more if not for some poor umpiring and bad fortune.Until now Sreesanth was hardly anything more than an answer to a trivia question – who is the only Kerala bowler to have taken a Ranji Trophy hat-trick ? His rise, though, has been rapid, and since he plays for a weak side, unnoticed. Not too many bowlers get selected for the Duleep Trophy in their first season, like Sreesanth did in 2002-03 after snapping up 22 wickets in his first seven games. Playing for Plate B, he cranked up some surging pace and troubled experienced domestic stars like Wasim Jaffer and Hrishikesh Kanitkar.New Zealand arrived in India at the start of his second season and the tour game at Rajkot provided him with a chance to prove his worth. He was overshadowed by Munaf Patel, who bowled with fire, but Sreesanth’s 12.5 overs had a fair share of pace too. The honeymoon period, however, had come to an end. A hamstring injury forced him out on the first day and that turned out to be the start of a disappointing season in which he managed just 11 wickets in five games. Kerala played in the Elite group that season and he would have had to deal with batsmen of superior quality but Sreesanth admitted that getting back in shape was an irritating roadblock.A mystifying story did the rounds when Sreesanth missed five games in the Ranji Trophy that season. It was alleged that he was following an astrologer’s advice to stay away from cricket for a certain period of time, an absence that would help his career in the long run. Sreesanth rubbished this claim but it was indeed surprising to see him travel with the side, train before games and yet sit out. “I wasn’t match fit,” he said, “I was working in the nets to get back in shape.” However, if true, the story not only tells us a bit about the man’s beliefs but also reveals the power of the astrologer. Ever since, Sreesanth – who somehow found a place in that season’s Duleep Trophy squad despite such a lukewarm season – hasn’t looked back.Not only did he make headlines for some strong performances in domestic cricket, but he was being touted as a prospect in coaching circles. “Dennis Lillee and TA Sekhar were vital to my improvement,” Sreesanth told Cricinfo. “Lillee helped me change my action from mixed to more side-on and it was great to work with such a legend.” Greg Chappell spoke about him after watching him at the National Cricket Academy, while a few coaches around the country picked him out as one for the future. “I wasn’t so quick when I started off,” Sreesanth continued, “but I built it up gradually. As long as I can maintain my rhythm, I will get wickets.”Kerala’s finest batsman, Balan Pandit, was a hair’s breadth away from playing for India in 1955-56, while KN Ananthapadmanabhan, their best spinner, toiled away for 17 long years without gaining national recognition. Yohannan managed to break the barrier with pace, and despite lasting just three Tests, his impact on the next generation in Kerala, a state so beautiful that it’s often termed as `God’s own country’, might turn out to be his lasting legacy.

Inzamam-ul-Haq has indicated that both he and Yousuf Youhana will bat up the order in the remaining one-day matches in the VB Series. Inzamam has been batting at No. 5, while Youhana has been slotted a position below that so far in the tournament.”We had dropped a place down in the batting order after analysing theproblems we were facing in Australia,” Inzamam explained. “But after reviewing the scenario now, I have no hesitation in admitting that we should have batted up the order. In the coming matches, therefore, we will bat on our originalpositions. It’s all about learning from your mistakes and moving on.” Pakistan play their next match against Australia on Sunday.Inzamam insisted that the two had dropped down so that they could holdthe innings together in case of a top-order collapse. “Our thinking wasthat if we come in the middle of the innings, we would be able to holdthe innings together in case of a collapse which we expected against afocused Australian bowling in tough Australian conditions.”But I am glad that youngsters like Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik and nowKamran Akmal proved us wrong and showed the world that they have thecapacity, talent, potential and mettle to handle the pressure and perform.”Inzamam further argued that the changes in batting positions were forced on the team as they had lost the option of playing Malik as a bowler because of his suspect bowling action. “To have a sixth bowling option, we had to play MohammadHafeez, who is also an opener. And when we decided to send Akmalas a pinch-hitter, naturally everyone had to sacrifice one position. Kamran was send up so that he could pick up some runs besides allowing us to strengthen our batting which has always remained suspect, at least in Australian conditions.”The stats show why it’s in the team’s interest for Youhana to bat up the order: in the 42 matches when he has batted at No. 3, he averages 56.77. At No. 4 he scores 38 runs per innings, while he has batted at No. 5 in 69 matches, averaging 35.81. With Inzamam, the contrast isn’t so stark – he averages 40.66 at No. 4 and 41.20 at No. 5.Looking ahead to Pakistan’s next big series, against India in February, Inzamam said that the confidence-levels of the young players would be high after their performances in Australia. “The key to success in India will be self-belief and self-confidence which the youngsters have acquired by excelling here. If you recall, Indian batsmen won the series in Pakistan because they had performed well in Australia. International cricket is all about taking the pressure and I am sure that today’s investment will benefit Pakistan cricket in years to come.”

England, Pakistan and India all have a chance to wrest the third spot in the ICC Test Championship table going into the final match of their series in West Indies and Pakistan. Currently, just two points separate the three teams, with Pakistan on 102, England on 101, and India on 100.A victory at Rawalpindi will push Pakistan’s tally to 105 points and assure them of third spot regardless of the outcome of England’s Test against West Indies in Antigua. If Pakistan only achieve a draw, though, they will stay on 102 points, and England can sneak ahead with a draw and a 3-0 series win – which will improve their rating to 103 points. If England win in Antigua, their tally will go up to 104.For India to leapfrog both teams, they will have to beat Pakistan in the third Test, and then hope that West Indies pull off a surprise win against England. If that happens, India and England will be tied in third place with 102 points, while Pakistan will slip to sixth place with 99.Australia lead the way with 127 points, while South Africa are in second place with 112.

James Sutherland, the chief executive of Cricket Australia, is concerened about the increasing number of reports on Australian players for bad on-field behaviour over the last year. He has told Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, that expectations of how they handle themselves on the field had risen.The most recent offender was Ponting himself when he protested against umpire Asad Rauf’s decision to call a wide during the DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur. He has been found guilty of dissent twice by the ICC. Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath have also had to appear before the match referee for bad conduct in the recent past.”I know it’s something the players have talked about in recent times, even at the camp to address areas of concern, areas of susceptibility,” Sutherland told the . “I am sure they are making conscious efforts to keep the slate clean and play the game in the right spirit.””If you have a look at a case-by-case scenario, I think they have been relatively minor” added Sutherland. “I am not in any way condoning that behaviour, but they are level one. My strong feeling is that the bar has actually been raised a little bit by the ICC over the last 12 months, 18 months. Mentally we need to continue to keep up with that.”

After a cracked rib ended Michael Bevan’s tournament, Trevor Hohns, head of the Australian selectors, gave Michael Hussey a ring at about seven o’ clock last night to tell him he was in the international team. Hussey wasn’t expecting it.”I was pretty shocked really. It was a surreal feeling. He [Hohns] said I was in to replace Bevan for this game. It is a strange feeling really. It is something you obviously dream about as a kid. For all your life you are hoping you get the call. And then when it does finally come, it is a bit of a bizarre feeling. I was hoping and praying that I wouldn’t wake up to find out it was all a dream.”He realised it wasn’t, and spoke about his intended approach to the game on Sunday. “I think I will feel a bit nervous. It is great that it is at the WACA in front of my home crowd and my family and friends will all be able to be there. So I have plenty of support in that respect. I am just going to go and try and enjoy the whole experience.Hussey has been a prolific middle-order batsman for Western Australia, scoring over 12,000 runs in nine seasons. And with more than 5000 in 146 one-day games, with eight hundreds and 39 fifties, he has been one of the most consistent batsmen in Australia. Though he comes in for Bevan in the middle-order, and serves the same purpose, he hasn’t modelled himself on the man he’s replacing.”I haven’t really molded myself on him. But we do play a similar role. I guess that they wanted a like for like player. The main thing is to score runs. Quite often you come in with four or five overs to go, and you pretty much have to slog from ball one. That is the great thing about batting in the middle order, you get so many different challenges, and you have just got to try and cope with them as best as you can.”Though the tour of Sri Lanka was imminent, Hussey preferred to concentrate on the job at hand. “I am really just trying to get my head around this game on Sunday. After Sunday I can sit down and see where they are going and if they want to have a chat to me I don’t know. I will go to Sri Lanka if they need me.”I am going to try and concentrate on scoring as many runs as I can, and whatever will happen will happen. I hope that it is not the one and only experience, I am sure the selectors will keep me in the forefront of their minds over the next few years. Hopefully there will be more opportunities as well.”

Plans have been submitted for a major refurbishment to the Walker Cricket Ground in Southgate, Middlesex’s second home in recent years. The main clubhouse and neighbouring squash courts would be demolished and replaced with a purpose-built two-storey facility.”The plans are all about trying to secure the future of the ground," Chris Sexton, the Walker Ground’s administration director, told the Barnet & Potters Bar Times. "It has been here for over 150 years and we want to see it carry on. "It’s very expensive to maintain the cricket ground, so if we don’t improve facilities we may not be able to make ends meet.”Middlesex have increasingly regarded Southgate as their second home, and with fewer matches staged at Lord’s in recent seasons they have increased the numbers of games held there. Sexton would like to host even more Middlesex games.”One of the problems we have here is that although Middlesex like coming here, and enjoy the excellent pitch, the players have to sit in a tent to watch the game as we have no viewing facilities,” Sexton explained. “We have to cordon off their changing rooms from the public as well, which is not ideal for county cricket. We want them to continue to play here and this development will certainly help in that respect.”

Pakistan might have won the first Test at Karachi, but all the gains went to Bangladesh. To push Pakistan into the fifth day was an excellent effort on their part, especially after their hapless showing of the last few months. Pakistan’s performance, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired.Bangladesh batted with a new-found grit and determination, especially in the second innings. Shoaib Akhtar was not allowed to rip through the batting order, and Rajin Saleh and Habibul Bashar handled his extreme pace with remarkable ease. Saleh, the talk of the town on his debut, is a player to watch out for – he has a good technique and can stay at the crease for long periods of time without getting flustered.Dav Whatmore, who took over as coach just before Bangladesh’s series against Australia, has already made an impact on his side. Whatmore was instrumental in converting one Asian minnow into a top team – he coached Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup. Bangladesh might be a different ballgame, as he recently explained in an exclusive interview to Wisden CricInfo, but he has begun well.One of Whatmore’s biggest worries will be the bowling. Mashrafe Mortaza troubled the Pakistani batsman and Mohammad Rafique was economical, but the rest lacked penetration. Bangladesh do not yet have the ability to take 20 wickets in a Test, and Khaled Mahmud hardly leads by example. He doubled his tally of Test wickets in this game, but his bowling average still stands at 244. The cricket academies back home need to breed genuine pace bowlers – and a quality legspinner would do quite nicely as well.Pakistan do not have much cause for cheer. Their fielding was atrocious – a major reason for Pakistan’s lack of success in the longer version of the game is their inability to hang on to chances in the slips. The bowlers, as a result, concentrate on getting batsmen out bowled or lbw and are taken for runs when they drift onto the pads. This Test was no exception, as Taufeeq Umar dropped a sitter in the first innings and Yasir Hameed bungled a simple chance offered by Habibul Bashar in the second. Bashar was then on zero – he went on to make 108.The batting, with the exception of Yasir Hameed’s centuries, was ordinary. The shot selection by Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar was awful. Pakistan must sort out its opening combination quickly, as neither Hafeez nor Taufeeq seem to possess the technique to succeed against better teams. The Bangladesh attack was modest, yet Pakistan managed just 346 in the first innings on a docile pitch.The only positive to come out for Pakistan was the impressive performance of 25-year old Hameed. He had shown a glimpse of his talent in the one-day internationals that preceded this Test, but had failed to convert any of his starts. He showed great composure and concentration and worked his way to two centuries on debut, only the second player to achieve that feat. However, it would be too early to say that Pakistan’s worries over the crucial No. 3 slot are over. Pakistan has a penchant for discarding players after the odd appearance in a Test match, and Hameed will have to prove himself against better teams.The pitch at Karachi was pathetic. Pakistan’s strength lies in its pace attack, and the pitches prepared for a home series should be lively, with an even covering of grass. The Karachi pitch offered no assistance to Pakistan’s fast bowlers, and neutralised the home advantage they had. It may not matter against Bangladesh – it will against better teams.Final day Bulletin

Ricky Skerritt is the epitome of managerial unflappability, but heseemed to be drifting towards the edge of that idyllic state on Thursday. Did he have a moment to talk to Wisden CricInfo? “Yes, but no more than a moment – I’m just leaving a doctor’s office,” said Skerritt, who was himself admitted to hospital for tests after complaining of chest pains in Zimbabwe last month.The West Indies squad arrived in Bloemfontein at lunchtime onThursday, and among team manager Skerritt’s duties was to get his captain, Brian Lara, to a man in a white coat. “Brian had to go to the dentist, just for a little, routine filling,” Skerritt said. Still, it was serious enough to preclude Lara from talking to journalists on the day: “Out of the question, I’m sorry.”There was urgency in Skerritt’s tone, not least because Lara’spresence will presumably be required in the team that begins a four-day match against Free State today. The match is West Indies last engagement before the Test series starts in Johannesburg next Friday.Lara’s teething troubles came on the heels of Jerome Taylor beingsent home to recover from the lower back problem that curtailed his involvement in the Zimbabwe leg of the West Indies’ southern African tour to taking 10 for 112 in a tour match and bowling 9.4 overs in the first Test.”The loss of Taylor is significant because he was part of a balance that had been put together, and every young fast bowler has their own strengths to help create that balance,” Skerritt said. “It’s also unfortunate because it was an opportunity for him to get some exposure and some experience. He’s definitely a player for the future.”Was the rest of the squad in good health? “More or less, I would say,” Skerritt said. Curiously, the West Indies brains trust has decided to replace Taylor with Dave Mohammed, a left-arm wrist spinner. “I think the selectors probably took the opportunity to throw a little bit more variety into the attack, and to get a little more versatility,” Skerritt said. Mohammed, 25, is no stranger to the West Indies squad and its environs – Chairman’s XIs and the like – but he has yet to make his international debut. In 16 first-class matches from the 2000-01 season he has taken 53 wickets at an average of 23.41.Mohammed is the youngest of 10 siblings, and he lists his mother,Saferan, as a guiding light in his life and career. South Africans understand so few of the mysteries of chinaman bowling that their selectors prefer to persevere with a patently out of form Paul Adams rather than turn to another, less exotic but more reliable spinner. Which could mean Mahommed is already halfway to making a namefor himself in South Africa.

Although the English media welcomed the innings victory in the first Test against Zimbabwe at Lord’s, they were united in their disappointment at the weakness of the opposition. The win, which came inside three days, was tempered with the knowledge that it had been achieved against what more than one correspondent described as the worst side to have toured England for many years … if not of all time. This is how the newspapers reviewed Zimbabwe’s performance:”There was a familiar feel to the cricket for those of us who wintered in the Antipodes, namely a dull inevitability about the outcome. But this time, for Australia read England and for England read Zimbabwe. The gulf between the two sides is as wide as the one we witnessed in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth last year – maybe wider. But here some of the tourists have looked overawed, others out of their depth.” Vic Marks, The Observer“The batting is woeful and the bowling short on experience and length, the former irreparable, the latter needing more than a single match against Middlesex to rectify. Only their ground fielding, which was superb in execution and commitment throughout the England innings, can have lent any satisfaction. It stands to reason they should be able to take wickets and make runs against a side that would languish somewhere in the lower reaches of the Second Division of the County Championship. Goodness knows what the Australians would do to them.” Mike Selvey, The Guardian“Not so much a new dawn for England, real or false, as another dark day for Zimbabwe. Their young cricket team lived up to their label of being the worst batting side to tour England as they were overwhelmed. Zimbabwe were there for the taking. With their quirky techniques, dominated by the bottom hand, they were sorely troubled by the outswing even of Mark Butcher, who started the day with the grand total of ten Test wickets, and Anthony McGrath, who had none.” Scyld Berry, The Sunday Telegraph“It sounds an awful thing to say, but they cannot have a worse game. They will look at their performance, work hard, and aim to move forward from the wreckage.” Andy Flower, The Daily Telegraph“The fact, however, that Zimbabwe allowed two occasional medium-pacers to take eight wickets in the day between them put matters into a truer perspective. Mark Butcher had a Midas touch throughout the match and McGrath justified his selection as a part-time bowler no less than he had as a batsman. Good luck to them both, but even they will know it was a case of making hay while the sun shone.” Christopher Martin-Jenkins, The Times“The figures from Lord’s so far in this match obviously do not tell much of a story for Zimbabwe, but, nonetheless, they have shown that there is plenty to hope for. If the present group of players can keep the game going until times change and prosperity returns to Zimbabwe, they will have ensured that there will then be a solid and presentable base to build upon.” Henry Blofeld, The Independent on Sunday